Artemis moon landing could face long delay while NASA waits for next-generation spacesuits
NASA’s next-generation spacesuits are still not ready and the delay could delay the Artemis moon landings by more than three years, according to an audit report.
The new report NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has found that design and testing delays consistent with recent historical averages will mean demonstrations of the Artemis spacesuits, provided by private contractor Axiom Space, will not take place until 2031. NASA is scheduled to send humans to the Moon in 2028.
The OIG found that NASA’s acquisition strategy was hindering the success of its spacesuit suppliers, while its spacesuit schedule was overconfident.
“We found that the initial demonstration timelines were overly optimistic and unrealistic,” Deanna Lee, deputy director for audit at NASA’s Office of Inspector General, said in a statement. video statement. “In fact, both trials are at least a year and a half late.”
This will likely cause a delay in future lunar missions. “While NASA is taking proactive steps to enable Axiom’s success, it may be forced to significantly adjust Artemis’ schedule if Axiom cannot meet the Agency’s needs,” she added.
Axiom Space is currently NASA’s sole spacesuit supplier. Jonathan CirtainCEO and President of Axiom Space, said Axiom Space welcomes the review and is committed to delivering the next generation spacesuits on time.
“Our goal remains to provide a safe, high-performance spacesuit that will allow U.S. astronauts to return to and explore the lunar surface in 2028,” Cirtain told Live Science in an emailed statement.
NASA has its eyes on two crewed landing missions in 2028with the Artemis IV and Artemis V missions. The Artemis program is already behind schedule and over budget – NASA had originally planned to return to the Moon now. On the other hand, the agency demonstrated that it was still capable of sending humans on a trip around the Moon with its historic Artemis II mission.
Why NASA needs new spacesuits
NASA has been trying to acquire new spacesuits since 2007. These efforts have included several internal attempts and separate efforts with external contractors. In 2022, NASA awarded contracts worth more than $3 billion to Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to develop suits that the agency would then lease for missions.
In 2024, Collins gave up its spacesuit contractNASA citing its inability to meet the agreed schedule. This left NASA dependent on Axiom to produce two new types of suits – one for the ISS and another for moon landings.
The new Artemis suits must communicate with various Artemis systems, including the Human Landing System (under contract with SpaceX and Blue Origin, and deal with their own delays and crew safety risks).
The Apollo mission suits underwent various modifications to make them suitable for the lunar surface, including protective gloves and boots to protect against sharp rocks and dust. But these Apollo-era suits were tailored to their wearers, are outdated and were not designed for long-term durability, meaning they won’t work for Artemis astronauts, according to the report.
The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits that NASA uses for ISS spacewalks were designed for the Space Shuttle program. These suits have been used in more than 200 spacewalks, but have not undergone a major overhaul in the past 20 years. They also have design flaws, such as water leaking into the helmet and thermal regulation issues.
The report notes that if Axiom cannot meet its obligation to produce new spacesuits, then astronauts may have to continue using the “problematic” EMUs until the end of the ISS’s lifespan. planned for 2030.
NASA could begin accepting spacesuit bids from other contractors at any time, with the report noting that several other companies are developing spacesuit capabilities that could compete with Axiom, including SpaceX. However, at this time, NASA officials do not believe this will be useful, according to the report.
In the meantime, the space agency is identifying potential supply chain issues, ramping up its testing of spacesuits and collaborating more widely with other government agencies.
The geopolitical issues behind this delay are important. If NASA doesn’t have the suits before 2031, then China could send humans back to the Moon before the United States. The two countries plan to establish a permanent presence on the Moon’s South Pole as part of a new space race, with China aiming for a moon landing before 2030. Nonetheless, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman remain optimistic.
“I am confident that when NASA is ready to land on the Moon in 2028, our astronauts will be wearing Axiom suits,” Isaacman said. wrote on the social platform on Monday (April 20).
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